If there is no right or wrong, then there are also no moral dilemma. It is also not a dilemma if there is a choice with no down side, so there has to be punishment whatever you do. The trick is to try to determine which option gives the best results with the least damage, from a selection of fairly evenly matched choices.
The whole point of the dilemma of pushing a fat man over a bridge is whether or not you can justify the murder of an innocent person in order to save lives. If murder isn't wrong, then the dilemma is reduced to a simple math problem.
There can be morally difficult or debatable situations, but that does not require the entire moral system to be neutral.
I disagree, at least partly.
If the moral dilemma is only based on the game's moral system, it's still a simple math problem. You have to think about which consequences your actions have in the game world and can then pick the best decision for a "perfect" game.
If the Larians could manage to creat a REAL moral dilemma - it would be based on your own moral ideas. You wouldn't think about the game's ethics but rather contemplate on your own ideas what is wrong and what is right. And that wouldn't be a math problem then.
Only problem with that approach is that you mustn't forget you are playing a role. So, if you are playing the mafia boss and see that your wife is cheating on you, you should rather beat the guy to death and stab your wife even though you personally wouldn't do that in real life. And if you actually "feel" to do that in the game, it's not just a math problem but a character problem you successfully adapted while playing the game.
About "absolute" Karma: If there is a belief in the game world and it is presented in a reasonable manner... I don't think that this Karma system might be too bad - as long as it doesn't punish the player by making the game impossible.
And btw, as I tried to give an example with Shadowrun, there can be other Karma interpretations as well. I'd prefer a Karma system which is based on the character you choose... the better you stick to your character, the better Karma you get. The Mafia Boss killing his wife and her lover would get good Karma then because it's the character's way of handling that situation. No mafia boss would sit down and discuss the matter with his wife and her lover - that should be "punished" in game terms. But again: These rewards and punishments shouldn't go so far to make it impossible to play the game.
Nigel Powers: "There are only two things I can't stand in this world. People who are intolerant of other people's cultures... and the Dutch!"
